An online course on English public speaking from Harbin Engineering University has been recognized as a national first-class undergraduate course, marking a major breakthrough for the university's School of Foreign Languages and an important outcome of its ongoing teaching reforms.

The course, “English Public Speaking,” is led by Associate Professor Zhang Junnan of the School of Foreign Languages. It was selected in the third batch of national first-class undergraduate courses recently announced by the Ministry of Education.

According to the ministry's public list, a total of 5,999 courses received the national first-class recognition in this batch, including 1,000 online courses. “English Public Speaking” stood out among many applicants for its innovative teaching model, solid course content, and notable teaching effectiveness.

The online course is taught entirely in English and features bilingual Chinese-English subtitles — a unique design that accommodates students with varying levels of English proficiency, ensuring both linguistic authenticity and effective knowledge transfer.

Under the slogan “Master English public speaking, and let the world hear your voice from China,” the course integrates value shaping, skill development, and knowledge instruction into a distinctive teaching philosophy. Special emphasis is placed on the organic incorporation of ideological elements. Through carefully designed speech topics, students are guided to foster a deep sense of patriotism and to carry forward the national spirit as well as the spirit of the times.

The course content covers both the fundamentals of English public speaking and techniques for improvement, while also seamlessly weaving in current international affairs and topics with Chinese characteristics — achieving a perfect combination of knowledge transmission and value guidance.